–Dan Kelly, Attorney

I’m speaking of the e-mail variety of spam.  I had occasion recently to ask some tech-savvy folks if they knew the origin of the word “spam” as applied to voluminous, unwanted e-mail.  Most did not.

I am aware that a few stories have been floated on the etymology of spam as applied

–Dan Kelly, Attorney

Late last month, Hershey Chocolate and Confectionary Corporation won an appeal at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to register the following as a configuration mark for use in connection with candy and chocolate:

The decision (opinion here) is straightforward and not precedential.  It is somewhat interesting in that Hershey had

–Dan Kelly, Attorney

A couple of weeks ago my wife and I were dining out. Neither of us can remember the specifics (life with a newborn will do this to you), but my hazy recollection is that one of us ordered something with cheese, and following the standard interrogatory about the type of cheese, it

–Dan Kelly, Attorney

I have generally enjoyed Geico’s commercials over the years, having gone so far at one point as to actually become an auto-insurance customer (but not currently).  Geico’s commercials can be viewed on its website here, and the vast majority of them end with the same tagline–one that I have heard frequently

–Dan Kelly, Attorney

I ran across information today that Microsoft is coming out with a new operating system this fall:  Windows 8.  8?  What goes into that branding decision?  I’m intrigued by the fact that Microsoft and Apple are again heading in opposite directions.  Apple eschewed the moniker “iPad 3” for its latest generation

–Dan Kelly, Attorney

There has been at least one interesting trademark-related story in the wake of the Rush Limbaugh flap.  Health insurance company Humana Inc. and its subsidiary Concentra Health Services, Inc. sued Preval Group, LLC for an injunction against Preval’s use of CONCENTRA in connection with a “memory pill.”

Humana raised the issue of